Wednesday, 31 October 2007

So Dad and I drove to San Francisco last night, left at 9, got to the airport about 9:45 to find our way to Cargo. The lady there was really nice, she asked me if he had stayed overnight in Detroit and I said no, not that I knew of. She looked confused and then walked away for a while, then came back and looked a few things up on the computer again and sure enough, they were keeping Cossie overnight in Detroit last night and not shipping him until TODAY!

Apparently they require a 4 hour space between flights and since his connecting flight was only 2 hours, the kept him overnight. A kennel service came and picked him up and then will take him back at 5pm Detroit time for his 7:30 flight to SFO. She gave me a phone number to call today to check and see how he is doing, and when I called they said that there might be a problem with the plane he's flying on having a big enough cargo door so of course I'm all worried our poor baby will get stuck in Detroit until we can figure out how to get him.

I found Cossies kennel dimensions and looked up the plane he is going to be flying on (I think) and it looks like he will have enough room to spare by about 2 inches. I hope that's the case and we'll get him safely tonight! I also called the kennel he is staying at in Detroit and they said he is doing fine. He ate and drank, and had a big poop for them that was normal, so hopefully he's not too stressed out. I know I am!

I'll call the airport in Detroit at 3:15 CA time and make sure he's going to be on that plane, and then as long as he is, we'll be out to pick him up this evening. So, here's hoping for some good luck and a safe arrival for our boy!

Sunday, 28 October 2007

So a lot has happened this week! Last time I posted I said, WE HAVE ORDERS! Now I'm in California! Imagine that! It's been a VERY busy week, so let me tell you about it!

Tuesday Drew and I got started getting things scheduled. I picked up my records from the OB. They actually gave me the WRONG ONES and I had to go back and get the right ones as there are TWO Jennifer Marie White's that are pregnant on base right now. After that I went to SATO to schedule my flight which they booked for Friday at 11:30. Drew went and got the housing stuff scheduled for pickup and did some other things he needed to start for out processing. Later that afternoon I had the dog and cat scheduled to get their Health Certificates for travel. Cossie got booked for his flight for the following Tuesday.

So I had a few days of preparing and packing and trying to get things in order, Friday morning Drew and I got up at 4:45AM, loaded my bags and the cat in the car and he drove me to Heathrow Airport. It's difficult to park there, so I just had him drop me off and I was struggling a little pulling all of my bags to the door to get a cart. I finally made it and stopped to try and get them loaded up and the first thing I did was DROP THE CAT! Poor baby. Her kennel fell face first on the concrete (luckily it didn't open up) and the small litter box I had in there and her food went flying everywhere. The poor cat was covered in litter and a little shaken, but was okay. I finally got everything loaded and went inside. When I got to the check in I found that they had changed the baggage requirements and I had one small bag too many, so I had to try and re-arrange everything at the counter and downsize. I was NOT happy and struggling a bit. They also would check in the cat (as it was first come first serve on pet spaces) but they wouldn't take her until 10AM. I also was suppose to put ice in her water bowl (another thing not mentioned on the website) so I had to haul her and my stuff upstairs to the bar to get some ice for her, then wait an hour and a half before they would take her.

At 10 I was down waiting and they finally took her back at about 10:20. By the time I got through security I literally had to RUN to my terminal and I was one of the last people on the plane, but I made it!

The flight was uneventful. I didn't have anybody next to me and I was in an isle seat so I was able to get up and walk around regularly. The flight was long and extremely boring, I didn't sleep much, but I finally made it! Auntie Bea picked me up at the airport and took me to Dad's, we all stayed up until 2AM chit chatting and I finally went to bed after not sleeping for about 27 hours! Then of course I was awake at 6AM since my body isn't used to the time change yet.

Dad had Auntie Bea, Myself and Leslie (who ended up refusing, so Dad joined us) for pedicures on Saturday afternoon.. and BOY was that nice! I now have cute pink toes and after the flight and drive the foot/leg massage was heaven! Dad took me shopping afterwards and got me a new maternity top and we got a couple of bras that fit me (well, we had to order them, but they should be here this week). When we got home we had lunch, then went to the movies to see Michael Clayton. It was a little hard to get into but it turned out to be a good movie! We came home and had some dinner, then off to bed I went about 10PM. Up again at 6 this morning!

We ran some errands this morning, went to the store got Cossie some dog food so we would be prepared for him on Tuesday. We got home, napped for about half an hour, then headed to Grandma's! She had been cooking all day and made a wonderful early Thanksgiving dinner.. a turkey, home made cranberry sauce, gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, Auntie Shawnda brought a fruit salad, there was even pumpkin pie! Everything was fantastic!

They also had a wonderful surprise of gifts for the baby! It was incredible all of the beautiful clothes and blankets, and towels that I received from the family. Before I opened gifts, Uncle Steve said a heartfelt prayer, it really hit home, and I cried as I am so thankful for my wonderful family, the fact that I got to be here to spend some time with them, the love that they show me, at the same time I wish Drew was here to enjoy it with me as well. I really miss him a lot and cant wait until the 15th when we meet in Louisiana.

I'm not sure what the rest of the week holds, I know it's going to be busy! We'll pick Cossie up at the airport on Tuesday night.. I'm so nervous about his flight! Everybody is looking forward to having him here though, so I know he'll be in good hands.

On the baby front.. I'm 30 weeks today, 10 weeks left! The baby seems to have taken the trip well, she's still really active and kicking me in the ribs as I type. I have a bit of a sore throat and acid reflux, maybe a combination from sitting on a plane with recycled air for 11 hours, travel, time changes and food I haven't had in a long time! I'm hoping that it gets better quick though.

Drew is shipping Cossie on Tuesday (well, dropping him off to be shipped on Monday), the car ships on Tuesday. Housing pick up comes on the 8th and 9th. His final out is on the 12th for the house, and he will fly to Louisiana on the 15th and land a couple of hours before me. I'm going to Mom's in Merced from the 6th to the 12th or 13th, then will be back for my flight on the 15th. I'll keep posting in the meantime with updates of what's going on, and try to keep with my regular Sunday blogs! I know I'm due to post a picture today, but I didn't have a chance to get one, so I'll post one as soon as I can! I hope everybody is well and I'm so glad things are finally moving along!

Monday, 22 October 2007

Drew just called to let me know they are in and he's going to make 50 million copies of them. So now the ball can finally get rolling, woot!!!

I'm going to go tomorrow and see if I can't book my flights and pick up my records and everything to get moving, the dog and cat already have their health certificate appointments for tomorrow, so they'll be good to go after then. I can't believe they finally came!!!! YEAH!!

Sunday, 21 October 2007

There's really not a whole lot to tell for this week. Baby is doing well, very active the past few days, my belly is bouncing and rolling all over the place! I've been at the gym, getting my cardio exercise in and feeling fantastic! I have to eat a little extra for the calories I burn, but I don't mind that part so much.

We're still waiting on orders, we're told that they are working on them, and we should have them this week. Of course, thats what they said last week as well so I don't want to get my hopes up too much. Drew has been working 12 hour day shifts and he's still sick, so I've been trying to let him relax as much as possible, though I must admit it's been nice having him home for dinner every night!

I've been doing small things around the house, cleaning mini-blinds, cleaning out kitchen drawers, and making sure we have all of our important documents and records together for both the move, and for what we'll need to out-process here so it doesn't get packed up! All of the pictures and shelves have been taken down off the walls and ready for the movers. Drew and I cleaned out the shed today and got rid of a bunch of stuff. I went and paid the pet shipper last week, so he's all set and just waiting for a date from us. I went and closed our British bank account and got the pets scheduled for their health certificates, though we might need to reschedule if we don't have orders soon! The phones/internet have been scheduled to be shut off by the 10th of November, so hopefully we're well out of here by then!

Other than that, same story, different day! I'm 29 weeks today, T minus 11 weeks and counting until we get to meet our baby girl! Seems like it's just around the corner. We're both really excited and can't wait!

All for now... we'll keep you posted about when we've got some orders in hand!

Monday, 15 October 2007

First I'll start of by saying I gained 4lbs. ACK!!!!!!!!!! I know it doesn't really seem like that much, but considering my overall gain is suppose to be 18-25, and I'm currently at about 16 with 12 weeks to go, it's not looking too promising. I know it probably doesn't help that I'm a tad OCD about the whole weight gain thing and I'm SUPPOSE to gain. It's still a painful experience that I wasn't quite prepared for emotionally I think. As long as I keep going to the gym or getting exercise 3-5 days a week, and eat as healthy as possible, and drink my water, I can't really ask anything else of my body right? I'll just have to think positive.. .I mean sheesh.. I'm 28 weeks pregnant and I still weigh about 50lbs. less than I did a year ago. If only brainwashing myself were that easy. :)

Okay, on to the appointment. She said the weight gain was okay, but borderline. She suggested I go talk to a nutritionist when we get to our next base. Of course I find that somewhat of a moot point by then considering I'll be almost due.. I've been asking about talking to a nutritionist since I got pregnant and they kept insisting that I was doing fine and had nothing to worry about. I still don't think I'm doing too much wrong nutritionally, but having he backup and confirmation from a professional would have been helpful.

My blood pressure was good, a little higher than last time, but still well within normal ranges (115/73), Baby L's heartbeat was 150 bpms and I'm still measuring 2cm bigger than I should be, but that's been the case all along, so no surprise there. She nonchalantly made the suggestion that I might just be having a big baby. I smiled instead of decking her.

My blood results from Friday were all normal. No gestational diabetes, and I'm not anemic so no extra iron supplements needed. She gave me a handout on things to watch out for and avoiding pre-term labor and we went over how to make the flights comfortable and safely (lots of water, walk as much as possible, move my feet regularly to keep circulation up). That was about it, just another routine appointment. She said I should try and get to our next base and seen in about 4 weeks for the 32 week checkup, so that's the goal. Can we make it there in 4 weeks? Lets hope!

Sunday, 14 October 2007

28 weeks today! I have a lot of pictures for you. Nothing exciting has happened in the last couple of days. I went to the gym two more days in a row for a total of 5 days this week. It feels great to be working out, but it doesn't seem to be slowing down this fairly quick weight gain I've had in the past week and a half. I'll ask the doctor about it tomorrow. Maybe it's normal for this point in the pregnancy? I just don't want to gain more than I'm suppose to especially since I've been doing so well in that area!

Anyway, on to the pics, and I'll give a update tomorrow after I'm home from the OB! Now maybe it's just me and because I feel huge, but I don't know what that phlebotomist was thinking, I think I look preggers now!Cossie was getting in the pic so we had some words about being in the way:Then I told him pretty soon he was going to have a little baby around soon and that he better be a good big "brother". I'm not sure he understood, but he pretended anyway.That's all for today! Drew and I cleaned the backyard yesterday and spray painted our patio set (I guess they wont ship anything that has rust on it). We're slowly weeding through the little tasks that need done before we can go. Now hopefully we'll get orders this week and really get things moving! (No pun intended).

Friday, 12 October 2007

I went this morning to get my glucose test done (results pending) and I had the same phlebotomist that tried to drain me of all my blood when I had my initial labs drawn back in May. She called me back and I walked in and sat down and she looks at me and says "Are you seriously 28 weeks pregnant?", I said, "on Sunday I will be". She said, "wow, I wouldn't have pegged you as pregnant if I saw you walking down the street". I pouted and said that I knew, and I was feeling pretty jipped because I'd rather look pregnant than have people wonder if I'm pregnant or fat. She said she hadn't thought of it that way and proceeded to stab me with a needle. Which reminds me, I guess I can take my Dora the Explorer band-aid off! It's only been about 5 hours!

I know she didn't mean it the way it came out, but it's still pretty depressing! I'm so excited to have a baby belly and to be showing and have people notice that I'm gonna be a Mommy, and I haven't had ONE comment from somebody who doesn't already know. At the store right after I had my blood drawn there was a pregnant lady in front of me and the checker was asking her when she was due (only 2 weeks before me) and talking baby, and I got to my turn to check out.. nothing! What gives!?

Anyway, everything else is going good. Baby L was really active last night and she was sideways so she was bouncing off both sides of my belly at once and doing some acrobatic thing. At one point I felt a pressure on my right side so I put my hand there and I'm pretty sure it was her head (or butt) sticking out! I could actually feel the little round part sticking out from the outside! I admit, it kind of freaked me out a little, sometimes I feel like my body is being taken over by an alien and it wants out, that was one of those times.

No word on orders yet, but I did get a call from the pet shipper today that Cossie's kennel was built and he'd hang onto it for us until we were ready to ship, so I'm glad that's done! I'm going to pay him next week so we can close our British bank account, it will be nice to have only one bank account and our savings account to worry about.

I'll post a pic on Sunday, and let you know how my OB appointment goes on Monday!

Wednesday, 10 October 2007

Just thought I'd give a small update. It looks like they got what they needed back from Barksdale and the orderly room sent the packet for our orders up today so hopefully we'll get them by next week. I'm beginning to feel a bit overwhelmed with all we have to accomplish in the next few months. I'm not quite sure how we'll do it, but I guess we'll figure it out. For now we'll just have to take things a day at a time and hope that everything falls into place. We've done as much planning as we can and prepared as much as possible. The only thing we can do now is to wait and hope that things roll fast.

I feel like I've doubled in size this week! I'll post pictures up on Sunday, but I'm feeling like there has definitely been a lot of growth lately! I was feeling out of shape and terrible, so I started going back to the gym carefully. I went yesterday and did a little bit of cardio and some arm weights (low weight, lots of reps) and today I did more cardio and started to do legs, but I had a little bit of a sharp pain so I stopped right away and called it a day.

There is a magazine called Fit Pregnancy, but it's hard to find on base regularly, so I went to their website. They have a lot of useful information about exercising while pregnant. I found a walking schedule so when I don't have a gym to go to regularly I'll start doing that instead. Some of the benefits of exercising while pregnant are that it's usually easier to get the weight back off after baby is born, labors are usually shorter and less painful (I HOPE!), backache relief, stress relief, less excess weight gain, and reduction of constipation. All those sound good to me!

I've also been reading about different foods. Since the baby is in the stage where her brain is developing a lot, it's recommended that your intake of Omega 3's are increased. I have been eating regularly fiber filled cereal for breakfast (Raisin Nut Bran, Oatmeal Raisin Crisp) and topping it with Breakfast Booster from Julian Graves that has all this good stuff: Apricot Dice, Raisins, Sultanas, Sunflower Seeds, Flaked Raw Almonds, Dried Banana, Pumpkin Seeds, Linseed (these are good!) and Roasted Hemp Seeds. It definitely feels like I start my morning off right! While I love fish normally, it just hasn't been palatable since I've been pregnant so I also started taking an Omega 3 supplement that is mainly fish oil along with my prenatal vitamin. Hopefully I'm doing everything okay to make a healthy (and smart!) baby girl!

So that's my mid-week update! I'll go Friday to get my blood work done for my appointment on Monday, hopefully it will show everything is normal and we're good to go! I'll post the 28 week (beginning of 3rd trimester) photo on Sunday!

Sunday, 7 October 2007

Well, here starts the last week of my 2nd trimester! Next Sunday officially marks the start of the 3rd. Hard to believe isn't it? Baby L has been really active for the past few days. I keep trying to catch a little on video so I can post it, but as soon as I point the camera at my belly she stops. I think she knows!

She's also been up really high lately which makes things a bit uncomfortable. I've constantly got a foot or something similar shoved up in my upper right rib cage and breathing is a bit more difficult when she's up there. I'm beginning to have difficulty getting my shoes and socks on and leaning forward sometimes comes to an abrupt halt with a big *umph*. Funny how the body just can't do the things it used to when you're carrying a baby and your uterus is the size of a basketball!

We did get a little bit more info on orders. Drew went and talked to the orderly room, and they said we should have them in about 2 weeks. Once we have them we can get things moving. It's a bit frustrating, but we'll get there!

All this waiting has me really bored. I've cleaned and organized as much as I can think of as far as our household things. I'm currently putting a bunch of our CD's on the computer as MP3's so I can listen to them on my Ipod through the fair amount of traveling we will be doing over the next couple of months.

I also have a list of the items we'll need when it comes to buying a house so I've been going through the filing cabinet collecting our records so we have them all in one place and most importantly, with us and not packed in a box on a boat somewhere. I keep worrying we'll forget some important paperwork we'll need to have with us, but hopefully I'll have it all. Seems I have lists everywhere!

So as far as the next week, I'm suppose to go on Friday and get some blood work done. Another glucose screen and to check and make sure I'm not anemic. I have another "last" OB appointment Monday the 15th for my 28 weeker. Since it looks like I'll still be here we went ahead and booked it.

Wednesday, 3 October 2007

Just an update with my appointment from yesterday. All is well, I didn't gain a single pound... woot!!! If I can keep it the same for two more weeks, I'll have 10 pounds to gain in my 3rd trimester to stay within my "suggested weight gain". I'm still measuring a little big, 28cm instead of 26cm, but it's considered normal within 3cm. Heart rate was 140 BPM, my blood pressure was 111/73.

I'm suppose to go in as late as possible next week to get some blood work done, and then go in the next day to pick up my records (assuming we have orders by then!). They should have the results back that day so my records will be all updated. If I'm still here the following week I'm suppose to go in for my 28 week checkup. We'll see how that goes!

Mostly we're just impatiently waiting. My stamp room is packed up, the dogs kennel is being built so it will be ready when we are. Drew's working on selling his car, we sold the British freezer to our neighbors. The house is clean and laundry is all caught up.. so I've been really bored! Tonight I'm going with my (ex) co workers for pizza as a going away thing, and tomorrow Jackie and I have a date to play Monopoly! Drew doesn't like playing with me because he says I always win, I really don't.. but he doesn't remember those times. Silly guy! Mostly at night I'm just bored since Drew is at work and all of my craft stuff is packed. I haven't been in the mood to watch any movies and it's been drizzly and raining off and on.

That's about it! If anything exciting happens or by some miracle we get orders.. I'll let you all know!

About Me

I am an Air Force wife to an awesome husband (Drew), avid scrapbooker, stamper and photographer. We are currently stationed at Barksdale AFB in Louisiana. We welcomed our daughter, Taylor to the world on Jan. 4, 2008 and completed our family with our son Carson, who arrived Aug. 26, 2009. We also have three fur kids, Cosworth and Holden, Great Danes, and Eibach, a Munchkin cat. Thanks for stopping by my blog!